The Diplomacy of Architecture: The Anıtkabir Project Competition from the Perspective of Mussolini’s Italy

In 1941, the architectural project competition launched for the design of the proposed mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or “Anıtkabir,” attracted significant interest from Italian architects. The entry from Arnaldo Foschini was one of the three entries which won the first prize, with designs by other Italian architects — Gino Franzi, Giuseppe Vaccaro, and Giovanni Muzio —being awarded honorable mentions. Marcello Piacentini, the most prominent figure of the Italian architectural scene during the Mussolini period, enthusiastically greeted the results, and the competition received significant coverage in the Italian daily press and architectural magazines. However, the real interest in the competition was behind the scenes and at much higher levels of the regime. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Popular Culture, which was responsible for propaganda activities abroad, closely monitored the competition process. High-level diplomatic contacts took place following the results in which the Italian Foreign Affairs lobbied the Turkish authorities in their realization of Foschini’s winning project, as well as for the use of Italian construction materials and workforce and the awarding of other Italian entries. T he study aims to uncover the political, economic, architectural, and cultural significance of the Anıtkabir competition from the perspective of Mussolini’s Italy. The article also seeks to reveal the lobbying and propaganda activities carried out by Italian authorities regarding this competition. The research is based on archival studies conducted at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive, the Italian State Archive, and the Marcello Piacentini Archive Fund of the University of Florence. Analysis is provided in chronological order of the various archival documents discovered during the research, including official correspondences, reports, press releases, and personal letters. The study also examines Turkish and Italian architectural magazines and newspapers published during that period and includes Foschini’s previously unpublished initial drawings for Anıtkabir. Finally, the article discusses Piacentini’s approach to the competition and investigates the contributions of post-war Italy to the final project.